Life is
by Tigergirl
Summary: Harry couldn't have picked a better wife-to-be than Casey Malfoy. Too bad their parents don't see it that way. But will the two families see eye-to-eye when a rare disease threatens to silence the wedding bells?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Life is…

**Author: **Tigergirl

**Rated: **T

**Disclaimer: **I do own Harry Potter. I own any original characters you don't recognize, especially Casey. She's been my original character since about 2004/2005.

**Summary: **Harry couldn't have picked a better wife-to-be than Casey Malfoy. Too bad their parents don't see it that way. But will the two families see eye-to-eye when a rare disease threatens silence the wedding bells?

CHAPTER ONE

Someone once said life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself[1]. It feels like I've spent most of my life doing both.

Twenty-one year old Harry Potter finished mixing his paints and turned around to walk back to his canvas. He was in the mood to paint today. As he dipped his brush into the paint, he found himself thinking back on how he got to where he was.

At age one, he had done what no one else could. He had survived the Killing Curse. It had been cast by a vengeful dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort. His parents had, for whatever reason, been spared and knocked unconscious. That night, he became the Boy Who Lived, the most famous figure in the wizarding world.

Harry made a face as his brush stroked across the canvas. _The Boy Who Lived._ He loathed that title. Thankfully, his parents had raised him to not let it all go to his head. He grew up simply as Harry Potter, a resident of Godric's Hallow.

Harry smiled as his gaze went past his canvas and to above the fireplace where there were a few non-moving photo frames. His gaze fell on one photo in the center. It was a picture of him and a woman with dark blonde hair. She had her arms wrapped around his neck from behind and a playful smile on her face as she leaned her head against his. Because it wasn't a moving photograph, the image didn't show the soft kiss they had shared before the picture was taken.

Her brother Draco had taken the photograph. Yes, he was dating a Malfoy. Casey Malfoy was Draco's twin sister. Oh, he remembered their past well.

And I'm looking forward to the future, he thought as he felt the ring in his pocket.

As he moved on to a new color after washing his brush, he thought back on how he had first met Casey.

/…/

_Harry was a Potter. Casey was a Malfoy. Both families knew each by reputation and the occasional passing by in Diagon Alley. It was on the train that he found himself sitting in a compartment alone. The door slid open and Harry looked up from the window. He had half-expected to see his best friend Ron, but instead it was a short, blonde girl with robes already on._

"_Mind if I sit here for a moment?" she asked, politely._

_Harry nodded. She smiled before stepping in and sliding the door shut behind her. She walked over and sat down across from him. The two looked at each other in some weird staring content for a while. Then she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees._

"_Messy brown hair…round glasses…you, sir, __**must**__ be a Potter," she said with a playful smirk._

_Harry decided then that he would play along. After all, it was a long train ride. He leaned forward on his own knees and gestured as he spoke._

"_Gray eyes…blonde hair…__**nice**__ but expensive robes…__**you**__ must be a Malfoy," he smiled._

_The two were able to hold it in for about five seconds before they cracked up. After calming down, Casey was the first to speak._

"_It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Casey," she said, reaching her hand out._

_Harry never even hesitated to reach across and shake her hand._

"_Harry."_

_The two sat and chatted for a few minutes before they heard a knock on the door. There was a familiar silhouette in the doorway._

"_Casey? Are you here?"_

_Harry had to hold in a groan. He recognized the voice of Casey's twin brother, Draco. The two wizards had met on several unfortunate occasions. Casey let out a quiet chuckle directed at him before speaking up._

"_I'll be out in a minute, Drac. Just meeting a new friend."_

_Draco seemed to accept this and walked away. Casey turned back to him and smiled._

"_I better go before he comes back and blasts the door open. I'll see you on the inside, Leo."_

_Harry quirked an eyebrow as Casey stood and made for the door._

"_Leo? What makes you think I'll be sorted into Gryffindor?" Harry asked with a small chuckle._

_Casey turned around with her hand on the door handle._

"_What house do you think __**I'll**__ be in?" Casey asked in return, not actually answering his question._

_Harry smiled and answered honestly._

"_Hufflepuff."_

_Casey barked out a laugh before sliding the door partially open._

"_See you at the Sorting Hat, Harry."_

_He admitted it later to himself that he had really loved hearing a Malfoy call him by his first name. Especially when it was a __**female**__ Malfoy._

/…/

Harry chuckled as he switched brushes to one with a smaller brushed tip. Like her brother, Casey had been sorted into Slytherin (which had been his _real_ prediction). Despite the animosity between the two houses, the two had secretly become friends.

Over the years, they found that they helped each other a great deal. Casey rocked at Potions; he stunk worse than a dung beetle. Casey was weak in Defense; Harry excelled at it. They helped each other with going over the basics and then improving on the weak points in each subject.

Halfway through fourth year, after he had been dating Ginny Weasley for a few months, Harry had finally taken on the most serious challenge of his life. He asked Casey out.

/…/

_Most everyone was inside at the ball celebrating the school champions. Harry had not seen Casey at the ball but he knew just where he could find her. Carefully evading the professor patrolling the grounds, Harry made his way down to Hagrid's hut._

_As he came closer, he spotted Casey's figure by aid of the full moon. She was jogging back and forth from one spot to the other. Lumbering along beside her was Fang. Harry had almost let it slip more than once to Hagrid the real reason as to why Fang had lost some weight recently._

"_Casey!" Harry called._

_Casey looked up and waved as he approached. As he got closer, he saw that Casey was wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket with a hood._

"_I thought I would see you at the ball," Harry said, stopping in front of her._

_Casey snorted while dropping her hand to scratch Fang's ears._

"_You know I __**hate**__ that scene. I barely make it through the balls my family drags me to," Casey reminded him._

_Harry chuckled. He agreed with her. He hated the social balls that his family attended, too. However, this was a school ball in support of the Triwizard Tournament champions, including Cedric Diggory for Hogwarts. And his best friend Hermione had begged him to come._

"_Ginny broke up with me," Harry blurted out._

_Casey raised an eyebrow at him before cracking a smile._

"_I know. Even we dungeon dwellers occasionally get a piece of the gossip. If you don't mind me asking, why __**did**__ you break up?" Casey asked._

"_Ginny realized she liked me better as a friend. And I realized that I liked someone else," Harry confessed._

"_Oh?" Both eyebrows rose. "And who's that?"_

_Harry stepped closer so Casey could see his emerald gaze more clearly._

"_You."_

_Casey's eyebrows shot up while her eyes went wide. She turned her head to the side while rubbing her ear. Then she stared at him again._

"_Did you just…?" she started._

_Harry nodded his head._

"_And you're absolutely…" Nod again._

"_Oh." Another nod. In agreement._

_Casey shifted her gaze upward while mumbling something in French. Harry found she did this often when confounded by something. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, Casey dropped her head back down and gave him a lopsided grin._

"_Is that your own Gryffindor way of asking me out?"_

/…/

Harry chuckled. He remembered well how red his face had burned. Thankfully, Casey had taken pity on him and stepped forward to hug him. She had agreed to give it a try with a confession that she had been a little jealous of Ginny. However, if her brother found out, _he_ was going to be the one to handle _that_ fire.

Draco _had_ found out Casey was dating someone, but not who it was. Even her best friend hadn't a clue as to who it was. Sadly, both had found out about a year later.

/…/

_It was the first night back from Winter Break and they were really happy to see each other again. So happy that they had forgotten to put up their usual locking charm on the door and alert charm for the hallway. They had been catching up for the past hour._

_Now they were making out on the window ledge with Casey partially on his lap. They never heard the voices in the hall or the opening of the door. However, they did hear the loud gasp. They broke apart to find two familiar Slytherins staring at them._

_Blaise looked a tad confused while Draco had shock and horror down. He seemed to put two and two together quickly as he saw how close they looked._

"_Soeur [Sister]?"_

_Casey stood up from the ledge and stepped back from the ledge. Harry followed her example._

"_Frère [Brother]?"_

_Draco took in a deep breath before speaking._

_"Est-ce votre petit ami [Is this your boy friend]?" Draco asked._

_Casey answered in the affirmative. Draco took a deep breath before lunging forward to yank Casey away. He pulled her over to a side of the tower where he started hissing something to her in French. She listened for a few minutes before she joined in on the very heated debate._

_Harry stared in mild fascination. The two were putting up quite an argument against each other. He guessed he really only had to worry when one or both of them pulled out a wand._

"_Potter."_

_Harry jumped. He hadn't realized Blaise had slid over to stand beside him. Harry turned his head. He tried to remember the last time he had heard the other Slytherin speak. Third year? First year? He was normally __**very**__ quiet. Not shy. Just quiet._

_The Slytherin kept his gaze on the two arguing Slytherins. He seemed more interested in watching them, He spoke again in his quiet tone._

"_Are you Casey's boyfriend?" Blaise asked._

_Harry knew from past conversations with Casey that Blaise was her absolute best friend. So he knew honesty was the best policy right now._

"_Yes," Harry answered._

_If Blaise was surprised by his answer, he didn't show it._

"_How long have you been dating?"_

"_About a year now."_

_Blaise made a noise in the back of his throat before finally turning his head to look at the Gryffindor. His eyes flashed._

"_Do you love her?"_

_Harry's eyebrows dropped and he turned his head to look at Casey. _

_The blonde witch was incredibly smart and never hesitated to offer to help him understand Potions better. She was beautiful, but she wasn't the girly girl type or narcissistic. She was fierce, compassionate, and not afraid to speak her mind._

_A smile lifted across his face._

"_I do."_

_Blaise looked sharply at him. He obviously hadn't been expecting such an answer. A small smile flitted across his face, but was gone when Harry blinked._

"_Piccola pantera [Little panther]."_

_The two squabbling blondes stopped when Casey slapped a hand over her brother's mouth. She jerked her head to the side, ignoring the hands slapping at her arm. She brought her other hand up to smack him sharply on the cheek. This shushed the wizard's struggles._

"_Mi piace [I like him.]"_

_Casey's smile lit up the room like the Weasley twins' fireworks._

/…/

Harry paused in his painting to take a break. He wandered downstairs for a drink. As he trudged slowly down the stairs, Harry continued his current thought process. Casey had translated for him later that night after the four had parted ways. It turns out Blaise was fluent in Italian and, naturally, Casey had learned the language since he _was_ her best friend.

Blaise had told Draco flat out and in plain English that he approved of the relationship. After a few more shared words of the French language with his twin sister, Draco had reluctantly agreed to give him a chance.

Over the next few months, the two had grown even closer. Draco and Blaise had even covered for Casey a few times. Sadly, all good things had to come to a head eventually. Right around the same time he had accidentally let it slip in a letter to his parents, Draco "Big Mouth" Malfoy had mentioned Casey's boyfriend to theirs. Both sets of parents wanted to meet their child's girl/boyfriend.

Right around this time was the annual family day at Hogwarts. It was always a Thursday and Friday in which classes were all cancelled. Muggle-born students were able to go home for the long weekend if they so choose.

If anything else, Harry remembered that day _very_ vividly. Especially when it was Casey and Draco's _godfather_ that found out _**first**_.

/…/

"_Come on, Casey. They're all waiting downstairs," Harry encouraged her._

_From her seated place at the top of the stairs, Casey crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head._

"_Hellllll no. My brother got us in this mess. He can damn well get us out of it," Casey replied._

_Harry flashed a reassuring smile before walking up the few extra steps to sit down beside her. He reached over to grasp Casey's hand in his. Her face melted into a small sad smile._

"_It'll be okay, Casey. We got through your brother __**and**__ best friend finding out at the same time," Harry reminded her._

_Casey chuckled while grasping her boyfriend's hand._

"_In any case, we might want to bring Madame Pomfrey with us. In case of any sudden breakouts of heart failure or fainting. After all, we're coming out to the whole school, __**too**__," Casey pointed out._

"_I'd be more worried about the hexes and curses. My mom's got a fiery temper on her and dad __**is**__ an Auror," Harry said with a grimace._

_Casey opened her mouth to reply but a throat clearing behind them stopped that. They both snapped their heads around to see the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. Professor Snape stood with his arms crossed over his chest while looking down his long nose at them._

_Casey smiled weakly._

"_Hi, Godfather."_

_Harry snapped his head back to face Casey. He was suddenly worried of a severe case of whiplash._

"_Godfather?! You never told me that," Harry protested._

_Casey shrugged._

"_You never asked."_

_Harry opened his mouth to say something when the Potions Master reached down and pulled both teens up by the back of the robes by their necks. He leaned down so his face between both of theirs; to which they both refused to turn their heads to look at him._

"_Casey Alexandria Malfoy, please tell me your boyfriend is polyjuiced to look like Potter as a prank."_

_Casey grimaced. "I would, but that would be lying. And I happen to know you always carry Veritaserum."_

_Professor Snape let out an almost inaudible sigh._

"_As much as I'm enjoying this three-ring circus, I believe __**both**__ your families are waiting downstairs," Professor Snape said._

_Casey turned her head with a playful, innocent smile._

"_I don't suppose you would go downstairs and tell them you can't find either one of us," Casey said._

_Even Harry was giving her a disbelieving look. Professor Snape released both of them but then lowered his hands to push them both forward._

"_I endured five hours of interrogation with Lily Potter last weekend. You're going downstairs and telling them, even if I have to drag you by your ears."_

_Harry was still giving her the disbelieving look as they walked down the stairs to the Great Hall. Casey shrugged._

"_It was worth a shot."_

_Harry snorted._

/…/

Harry entered the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. He opened the fridge and paused to consider his options before selecting cranberry juice. He wandlessly and wordlessly summoned a cup safely from the cupboard.

He poured half a cup of cranberry juice and returned the bottle to the fridge. He thought back to what had happened when they entered the Great Hall with Professor Snape. Turns out they didn't have to call both families together.

The Headmaster had already done that.

/…/

_Casey and Harry stared at the Headmaster as he clapped a hand on a shoulder for each of them._

"_You just know everything, don't you?" Casey accused him._

_The Headmaster chuckled. "I only see what there is to see."_

_Casey shot him a dirty look while Harry hid a blush._

"_Now I believe you have something to tell your families."_

_Headmaster Dumbledore stepped aside to let the two pass. The two families were sitting (very reluctantly) at the same round table. Professor Snape now stood in the background with a knowing smirk on his face. Draco sat with his smirk and arms crossed over his chest._

_The two stood in front of the table with a shared nervous look at each other. It was Narcissa Malfoy who spoke first._

"_Casey Alexandria, I thought we were going to be introduced to your boyfriend. There's no need to bother Mr. Potter," Narcissa lightly scolded her daughter._

_At the same time, James Potter had stood up from the table to come over and throw his arm around his son's shoulders._

"_Hey, son. Come tell us about this great girlfriend of yours. I thought we were going to meet her," James told him._

_Harry smiled weakly._

"_You've actually already met her, Dad. You and Mom," Harry explained._

_Harry could see the dawning in his mother's eyes and the tensing of the Malfoy parents. Especially when Lucius Malfoy tightened his grip on his cane. The Malfoy Lord abruptly stood up from his place at the table. He rounded around the table to come stand by Casey with his hand firmly grasping her arm._

_Because he was standing close enough, Harry was able to hear what Mr. Malfoy hissed in Casey's ear._

"_We will talk about this later, Casey Alexandria."_

_However, Casey refused to be deterred. She turned her head to glare at the hand tightly holding her arm. Then she turned her gaze upwards to her father's face._

"_**No**__. We're going to talk about this __**now**__. I, for one, would feel infinitely better knowing that a Potions Master and __**Auror**__ are within hearing range for __**this**__ conversation."_

_His daughter's tone had obviously surprised him. Looking over Casey's shoulder at the Headmaster, Lucius released her arm._

"_Mother, Father, Godfather…I believe you know Harry Potter. He's my boyfriend and we've been dating since Fourth Year."_

_Mr. Malfoy's eyes had lit up like a spark while Mrs. Malfoy brought a hand up to her mouth. Draco was still grinning like an idiot and Professor Snape was shooting him (Harry) a disapproving glare._

_Harry felt his father's arm fall back from his shoulders. His own mother looked equally as shocked. Suddenly, his father's arm came back up to his shoulders and he shook him lightly._

"_Ha Ha. That's a great joke, Harry. You'll have to tell me later how you talked Malfoy into this one," James laughed._

_However, his laughter died when Harry shoved his arm off. He turned and gave his own father a serious look._

"_Casey's telling the truth. I asked her out after the Champion's Ball in Fourth Year. We've been dating since then," Harry said with a strong, powerful voice._

_He could already hear whispers starting in what was now a very quiet Great Hall._

/…/

The most amusing part of that night, Harry thought as he reached the top of the stairs, was the near end. The two teenagers had talked in front of their families about what they liked in the other. One of Casey's likes had been that Harry had helped her decide what career field she wanted to go into.

Upon hearing this, "Big Mouth" Malfoy had spoken up again and demanded to know what career his twin was going into. Her answer had resulted in James Potter dropping in a dead faint and Narcissa Malfoy pulling Casey aside while speaking rapidly in French. He much preferred his father's reaction.

Harry sat back down at his easel and began painting again. It was late when he finally finished his art. He sat back in his seat, admiring the work in silence.

He nearly jumped out of his skin with a pair of arms came around his neck. They came down to rest across his chest as a chin rested on his shoulder.

"It's beautiful, Harry," a familiar voice whispered.

"Thank you, love," Harry said, patting Casey's arm gently.

He took Casey's hand in his and admired the simple yet beautiful silver band resting on her ring finger.

"I have great news," Casey whispered in his ear before placing a kiss on his cheek.

She took her arms down and allowed Harry to turn around and stand. Casey stood with a glowing smile on her face. She wore regular muggle clothes in the form of clean jeans, a t-shirt and zippered jacket with a hood. No one would have guessed what Casey's profession was.

"Okay, Auror Casey. What great news are you dying to tell me?" Harry asked.

Casey clasped her hands in front of her. She first held them up to her bright smile before bringing them down to her middle.

"We found her," Casey answered.

Harry's face lit up. Now he understood why Casey looked like she was going to sizzle up into the air like a muggle firework. He stepped forward and pulled her into a warm hug.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed.

Harry pulled her away just to pull her back to give her a kiss. Casey threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back without hesitation. They broke apart when it was starting to get hard to breathe. Now they both had bright smiles _and_ glowing red cheeks.

"She's the cutest little girl, Harry. Even cuter than her photograph," Casey chuckled.

Harry brought his hands up to hold Casey's face.

"I bet her father was happy to have her back," Harry told her.

Casey nodded.

"He was over the moon. We were so happy to reunite them," Casey said.

That's what Harry loved about his fiancée. She was a great team player.

"I'm surprised you're not out celebrating with the team," Harry commented.

Harry knew he should suspect something when Casey used that same smile she had once used on her godfather.

"They're coming here, aren't they?" Harry asked with a knowing look.

Casey nodded as she pulled Harry's hands down so she could dance away. She moved around over to the bathroom.

"They'll be here in an hour. I need to wash my hair and you look as though you're in need of a shower…dear."

Harry chuckled. He was glad Casey was so straightforward with her honesty.

"Hey Casey."

Casey turned around with her body partly in the bathroom doorway. She raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"What's the girl's name?" Harry asked.

Casey grinned.

"Isabella."

END OF CHAPTER ONE

[1] Quoted from George Bernard Shaw

**Author's Note: I hope everyone has enjoyed the first chapter. I am writing this on a sort-of trial basis. That means I want to see how it goes as I write it. I'm posting this first chapter to see what others think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hmm. No reviews. Yet someone marked this story as a favorite and follower within the first few hours of this being posted. Thank you, **mrizakbar.** I did have 34 views (30 visitors). So the story is going strong for now and I can't believe I cranked out this much in the second chapter. This story just seems to flow down on the page.**

**I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter! **

CHAPTER TWO

Casey sat at her desk looking over a list of trainings being held over the next month. Aurors were required to attend a minimum of one each month with very few exceptions. She had already taken Basic Healing and if she took How to Identify Illegal Potions she was quite sure her godfather would find out. And probably whack her in the back of the head with his new Potions text.

And that thing is bound to hurt, considering it has over 600 pages, Casey thought.

She glanced up around the room to see what the other members of her team were doing.

Former Slytherin Blaise Zabini sat at the desk beside her. He was finishing a report for the Head Auror that was due in before lunch. Across from them to the left was a sleepy-eyed Cedric Diggory. The man was leaning back in his chair with arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He should have stayed home, but had come in anyways.

Next to Cedric was former Gryffindor Neville Longbottom who was currently watering a small plant sitting on his desk. The plant twisted around with arm-like leaves, acting as if it were taking a shower.

The fifth desk, which sat to Casey's right, was currently empty. Their fifth team member, and current team captain, Oliver Wood, was out of the office at the moment. The quintet had been a team for nearly two years now. They were an ideal team. Neville had knowledge of plants, Blaise of advanced healing, Cedric of wards, Oliver of strategic planning and creatures, and Casey of potions.

A year ago, Cedric and Casey had started taking martial arts. The two of them were a force to be reckoned with, even when separated from their wands. One Dark Wizard had learned that mistake hard when he had managed to wrestle Cedric's wand away. He had dropped ten seconds later.

It was unusual for an Auror team to be so uneven with the genders. However, there were very few females in the Aurors. Casey had opted to stick with an all-male team. It helped that she knew all her team members from her years at Hogwarts; Blaise being her best friend. She hadn't known Oliver as well as Harry, but the two had gotten along quickly with her connection to Harry.

They were all dressed informally like Casey had been yesterday. Their particular department within the Aurors allowed them to dress without wizarding robes. Only on special occasions were they asked (yeah, right!) to wear them.

Casey was broken out of her thoughts by the appearance of Oliver. He had a small grimace on his face before he spoke.

"Hey Case. Kingsley wants to see you in his office," he told her.

Her best friend let out an ooh sound before murmuring something in Italian. All of this done with a smug smirk on his face.

"Stuff it, Zabini," Casey told him, standing.

He ducked his head to avoid the head slap to the back of the head. She did manage to kick the back of Cedric's chair, jolting him from his nap.

"W-Wh…?" Cedric was still half-asleep.

"Go home, Diggory. Special Projects won't fall apart in one afternoon with your absence," Casey called over her shoulder as she made it to the doorway.

"Casey!"

Casey turned around to see Blaise toss something at her. She caught it swiftly like a muggle catcher grabbing a baseball out of the air. She looked down and smiled. She shook her head as she left the office room.

As she walked down the hall, Casey secured her Auror badge to her belt. It was in plain sight now so that everyone could see it as she passed. There were several offices in the Auror Department. They were all divided by their fields with the offices.

Casey passed several Aurors on the way to the Head Auror's office. Some greeted her, but not many. One of those who didn't was her soon-to-be father-in-law Senior Auror James Potter. Their relationship was strained at best. James acknowledged her in going into the Auror field, but, like the other three parents, was not pleased with the upcoming wedding.

At least we agreed to do a long engagement, Casey thought.

At age eighteen, they were both fresh out of Hogwarts. Both had gotten their own apartments (in the same building, unknown to their families). They had lived separately while Casey had undergone Auror training. They had waited until after Casey and Draco's twentieth birthday for them to move into a house together.

Casey remembered the reactions of their families to their two unwed children moving in together. Even Draco had been skeptical. Then Casey flashed them all her engagement ring. That calmed down the matter of them living together, but stirred up a whole another issue.

Casey cleared her mind as she walked into the open doorway of the Head Auror's office. Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing in front of his desk with the Minister of Magic. Casey immediately went on the defensive, but kept her outward appearance at a smile.

"You wanted to speak to me, sir?" Casey asked.

Kingsley gestured towards the Minister.

"Minister Fudge wished to see you, Auror Malfoy," Kingsley told her.

Casey turned her attention to Minister Fudge who was wearing a Cheshire cat-like grin and a hand behind his back. Casey barely kept from jumping back when the Minister pulled out a small plaque from behind his back. He offered it to a very confused Casey.

"Auror Casey Malfoy, for demonstrating excellent strength in the field and saving a precious life, I am presenting you an Order of the Merlin, Second Class."

Casey stared at him shocked. She glanced at her superior then back at the Minister. He _couldn't_ be serious. Casey took in and released a deep breath before speaking.

"With all due respect, Minister, I can't accept it," Casey told him.

The Minister's jaw dropped unceremoniously. Kingsley's eyebrows disappeared upwards. They were both equally surprised by Casey's reaction. Casey nodded her head respectfully to both men before turning around to leave.

She only made it halfway to the door when the Minister broke out of his shock.

"_Auror._"

Casey stopped. She closed her eyes in patience before opening them and turning around. Fudge's face was rapidly turning a dark shade of red.

"Yes, Minister?" Casey asked.

Minister Fudge took a few intimidating steps towards her and thrust the award into her hands.

"You have _earned_ this award, Casey. You saved a little girl and reunited her with her father. For that, the Ministry wishes to recognize you," Minister Fudge told her, using a scolding tone of voice.

Casey had heard far worse in her own parents' voice. The Minister had nothing on them. Calmly, Casey took the Minister's hand in her free hand.

"Minister, do you intend to give an Order of the Merlin to the rest of the team?"

The Minister jerked back with an offended look on his face.

"Of course not!"

Casey smiled at him sweetly before smartly slapping the plaque into his hand.

"Then I absolutely _refuse_ to accept this."

She only had a chance to turn her head away when the Minister barked her title once again.

"I demand an answer from you, Auror. So what if the others don't receive an Order of the Merlin? _**You**_ _earned_ this."

Casey's eyes flared up as she whipped her head back around. It startled the Minister into dropping the plaque. It clattered to the ground with a loud thump that echoed out the door.

"Minister Fudge, you and I obviously do not see eye to eye. _I strongly disagree_. Have you read the report my team presented to the captain of my department and Head Auror Shacklebolt?"

The Minister shook his head and started to speak, but Casey cut him off.

"_If you had_, you would know that it was a team effort. Cedric disabled the wards without alerting the kidnappers inside. Oliver and Blaise took on all _five_ kidnappers, thus distracting them from the rest of us. Neville figured out how to manipulate the plant that was barring us access to the kidnapped child. I checked the child for potions in her system, neutralized the potion that_ was_ present, and comforted the child."

Not allowing the Minister to make any more comments, Casey turned on her heels and left. Kingsley's booming laugh shocked the Minister as the man walked around to sit down at his desk. Fudge whipped around with a pissed look on his face.

"Kingsley! Do you let your Aurors just speak their minds like that? Auror Malfoy was—"

"Not speaking her mind," Kingsley cut in.

The Minister of Magic looked stunned. Kingsley shook his head as he stood back up.

"I assure you, Minister Fudge, that Auror Malfoy was _not_ speaking her mind. She was simply telling you the facts and the truth. When she _does_ speak her mind, you will _know_ it," Kingsley told him.

Minister Fudge growled in anger as he swiped up the award plaque and stormed to the door. He stormed out into the hall past a group of Aurors.

When Casey came upon the open office doorway to where her team was, she could hear giggling. As she stepped through the doorway, her frown wiped away to a small smile. A familiar little girl was sitting down in a chair between Neville and Blaise. Standing across the room from them was Oliver and a man.

The little girl looked up and her whole face lit up when she spotted Casey.

"Miss Casey!"

She leapt to her feet and raced over to the female Auror. Casey bent down with her arms out so she could catch the little girl and bring her up in the air. She rested the little girl at her waist with both arms wrapped around her lower back.

"Ciao, bella ragazza," Casey chuckled.

The little girl giggled as she leaned back in the embrace and clapped her hands together.

"Ciao…be…bella gatto," the little girl replied, stumbling a little over her words.

The man chuckled as he came over. He reached out to pat the little girl on the back.

"Sweetie, what was that you said?" he asked gently.

Blaise stepped over to join them.

"She said 'Hello, pretty cat.' It's Italian," Blaise answered.

The man smiled. "Where did you learn that?"

The little girl giggled.

"Miss Casey teach-ed me! She told me bella regatta means pretty girl," she told her father.

Casey politely corrected the girl on the second word. The father turned to Casey with a quizzical look on his face.

"Pretty cat?"

Casey chuckled.

"It's my Animagus form."

"Ah."

Casey turned her back to the bright eyed and dark-haired child.

"What brings you here, Isabella?" Casey asked.

The little girl made a face.

"Call me Izzy," she replied.

Casey shook her head with a chuckle.

"Okay, _Izzy_. What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

It was her father that answered Casey's question.

"Izzy and I brought the department cookies we baked. Izzy wanted to come here and thank your team again. We both did," Isabella's father explained.

Izzy bounced up and down in her arms.

"We wanna invide you ta lunch," Izzy told her.

Casey chuckled. She turned her head to look back at Izzy's father.

"I'm sorry, but I have a department meeting in a few minutes. It would have to be a late lunch," Casey apologized.

The father shook his head.

"That's okay. We have a few errands to run in Diagon Alley. We can come back and meet you."

Casey let the wiggling little girl down. The team exchanged a few more words with the father-daughter duo before the groups separated. Casey walked down the hall with Blaise with Oliver and Neville up ahead of them.

"I'm surprised he didn't invite all of us," Casey commented.

"He did." Blaise snorted. "Oliver has the team captain meeting after department, Cedric went home, and Neville has that lecture at Hogwarts in Sprout's class."

Casey frowned.

"And what of you, mio fratello [my brother]?"

Blaise smirked.

"Ho un appuntamento [I have a date]," Blaise answered.

Casey's jaw dropped open. Blaise snickered before explaining that his _date_ was a doctor's appointment. Casey smacked him on the arm, eliciting another chuckle.

The quartet entered a large area that was surrounded by Aurors, some sitting while others stood. Casey pulled herself up onto a desk to sit next to Tonks, who incidentally, worked at said desk. Blaise leaned against the desk, pushing her arm against Casey. Tonks smiled brightly at the blond before they both turned their attention to the center of attention.

Head of Special Projects Auror Captain Donald Cragen [1] stood with an air of professionalism. He was a short, but powerful man with no hair and bright gray eyes. He had served many a year with great Aurors like Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"I wanna thank you all for coming to this month's meeting. A reminder to all that you are still required to attend a monthly training. Don't make me hunt you down," he told them.

There were several collective groans from all around.

"Now…who is handling the Lancaster case?" Captain Cragen asked.

"Our team is, Captain!" called an Auror.

Casey listened as Cragen gave new information to the team on their case. It was only a few minutes before he said something more to the whole group.

"I also want to extend a congratulations to Wood's team on a job well done with the Murphy kidnapping case. Her father is very happy to have her home safe."

The four of them nodded their heads in acknowledgement. Captain Cragen covered many topics over the hour and half that they all met. He asked the four of them to stay behind. Tonks slid off her desk to go on a quick coffee run.

Captain Cragen smiled at each member of the team.

"Good job, team. I know Diggory went home already, but I want you all to take the week off." They started to protest. "_No exceptions_. You all deserve a rest. You've been on the job for four weeks straight. Two of which were here on emergency calls. I don't want to see any of you back at your desks until the following Monday. Now am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Oliver replied.

"Good. I already sent your reports to Kingsley. So finish up your afternoons and disappear out the door," Captain Cragen commanded.

The group members murmured a "Yes, sir" before separating. Oliver went to join the other team captains while Neville made for the floo to get over to Hogwarts. Casey accompanied Blaise back to the office. Neither one noticed Potter Senior talking to Kingsley at the opposite end of the long hall.

"Perché andare dal medico [Why are you going to the doctor?]" Casey asked.

The two often spoke in Italian. Mostly just out of habit. The other team members had grown accustomed to it.

"E 'solo il mio assegno mensile fino [It's just my monthly check up]," Blaise answered.

Casey nodded. They separated ways with Blaise heading to the Apparation Point used by Aurors only from within the Ministry. Casey went back to the office to grab her messenger bag. She noticed two differences to her desk as she started for the door.

The framed picture of her and Harry had been moved from beside the pot of floo powder to the edge of the desk. There was also a child's drawing sitting on top of a few files. She picked it up and smiled.

The picture had several people in it. One stout figure with bright purple robes had green vines hanging off him. Obviously Neville. Another figure with bright pink robes and the word Chow written above it was meant to be Blaise, of course. Oliver and Cedric weren't quite clear but they had _long_ yellow sticks (wands) pointed at black smoke (the bad guys).

Standing next Neville were two figures meant to be Casey and Isabella. The little girl was standing next to her and holding her hand. The drawing of Casey had a yellow face to match her yellow hair and bright blue eyes. She had a long black tail, triangle-shaped black ears on top of her head, and long whiskers on her face.

She had never seen anything more beautiful. Although, her engagement ring came awfully close. Casey placed a preservation spell and anti-crinkle charm on the drawing. She placed it carefully in her bag before going to meet Isabella and her father.

/…/

After admitting that she couldn't remember his name, Casey learned that Isabella's father's name was Silas. They were both sitting at a table while Isabella was choosing her food. Casey had placed a charm on the little girl's barrette. Anyone who came within ten feet of her with ill content would alert Casey and find themselves on the _wrong_ end of her wand.

"I found Izzy's drawing. It's beautiful," Casey commented.

Silas smiled. "She'll be happy to hear that. She made it for you all to have in your office."

Casey grinned.

"I'll be sure to put it up when we get back," Casey replied.

Silas frowned. He asked if they were going somewhere. She explained that they were on paid leave for the time being because their captain believed they deserved the break.

"That's good to hear. Now, I'm curious about something. Auror Wood told me your group is a part of Special Projects. I thought all Aurors pulled the same duties," Silas said.

"We do. In a way. There are certain responsibilities we all share but the Aurors are broken up into different departments. There's the Wizard-Muggle Relations Department, which deal with issues involving security and keeping the secret. They're one of the bigger departments."

Silas nodded in silent agreement. Isabella finally came over and joined them. Silas stood up to pull his daughter's chair out and held part of the tray as she sat. The little girl started eating as did the adults. In between bites, Casey continued the conversation.

"The Creatures Department works with issues involving creatures of all kinds. General issues within the wizarding world are handled by the Magical Law Enforcement (MLE). Special Projects handles cases involving children…and other special circumstances."

Silas didn't ask what the "special circumstances" was. He could tell by the sideway glance at Izzy that it wasn't something to be said in front of a little one. The two adults chatted along with Izzy speaking up a couple of times. When the little girl had finished her food, she politely asked her dad if she could get dessert.

"Go ahead, munchkin," he told her with a smile.

The little girl clapped her hands happily. Casey reached out and caught her arm. The little girl gave her a startled look. Casey pointed to one of the chefs that was bringing out some fresh fruit.

"See that man there?" Izzy nodded. "Tell him you're a friend of Casey and he'll give you a special dessert."

Izzy's face lit up as she dashed from her chair. She weaved carefully around tables and people to make her way to the chef. Silas watched as his little girl stopped by the man and tugged on his shirt sleeve. The large man turned and glanced down at her with a small frown on his face. Izzy looked up at him with her big bright smile and told him something while pointing back over at their table.

The chef glanced up and over at Casey who gave him a small wave. The man smiled and let out a booming laugh that made the little girl jump. He placed a hand on her shoulder and led her out of sight.

"Don't worry. He's an old friend. He won't let her out of his sight," Casey reassured Silas.

Silas nodded. If Casey trusted the man, that was good enough for him.

"May I ask you a question, Auror Malfoy?" Silas asked.

Casey smiled.

"You can ask me anything. But only if you call me Casey."

Silas chuckled.

"Casey, it is then. What made you think to teach Izzy Italian?" Silas asked.

Casey explained that working with children was a delicate issue. Each Auror in the department was required to have a technique they used to keep the child calm, especially during high tense situations.

"My technique is to speak Italian or French to the child. While I was with her at St. Mungo's for the medical check-up, I spoke a few words in Italian to Izzy. She seemed to calm down and even asked me what I was saying. So I taught her a few words as the Healer was giving her a shot." Casey cracked a laughing grin. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know she got one."

That made a lot of sense to Silas. Izzy suddenly appeared with a large bowl of ice cream. It was decorated with all sorts of toppings. Gummy bears, gummy worms, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and nuts.

"My, my! What a nice dessert. I hope you thanked the chef," Silas hinted.

Her mouth full of ice cream, Izzy could only nod. Once she swallowed, she spoke.

"Chef Bobby was really nice! I got to see the kithen," Izzy told him, before shoving another bite in.

Silas chuckled.

"That looks tasty. Can I have a bite, munchkin?"

Casey watched as Izzy put a small amount of ice cream on the spoon and held it out to her father. The man bent over and gently took the bite from the spoon. The little girl giggled before pulling the spoon back carefully and diving back into the ice cream.

"Since you have the day off, _Casey_, would you like to help me burn this sugar rush off?" Silas asked, gesturing to his daughter.

Casey bit her bottom lip to prevent from laughing.

"What did you have in mind?" Casey asked.

"We're going to the zoo!" Izzy piped up.

Casey grinned. "I'd love to come."

/…/

After agreeing to accompany Silas and Izzy to the zoo, Casey explained that she needed only a moment to check her mailbox. Casey walked to where all the Auror mailboxes were. She found that stupid plaque stuffed into her box along with a short written note from home.

_Don't forget to mind the house for us._

Casey rolled her eyes. How could she forget when her father had reminded her by floo only two nights ago?

Now to deal with the stupid plaque. She put a few well-placed charms on it before whistling for an owl. From up in the rafters above, a large barn own swooped down and landed on her arm. She carefully secured the thing to its leg before giving it instructions.

"To the Minister, Blue."

The owl hooted before lifting its wing and pushing off Casey's arm. She watched him go with a smile.

"I suppose he should have taken your first no as your only answer."

Casey whipped around to find James Potter standing in the doorway. She nodded her head in acknowledgement to the Senior Auror. Then she registered what he had said.

"Has word already gone full circle around the departments? That has to be a new record," Casey commented.

James chuckled. He shook his head as he stepped further into the room.

"No. Not yet, anyway. I'm sure it will, though. Actually, I spoke with Kingsley earlier. Asked him what the commotion was earlier. And why Fudge stormed out of here like someone stubbed his toe and he was told the culprit couldn't be arrested," James commented.

Despite his status as a Senior Auror, Casey didn't back down or look away from his face. She spoke honestly to him.

"It didn't feel right, sir. Me being honored for a routine K&R[2] while the rest of my team isn't recognized? I won't stand for it, Senior Auror," Casey told him.

He could see clear as day that Casey meant every word she said. He had had plenty of reason to distrust her, given who her family was.

"Do you have plans for dinner?"

Casey's eyebrows shot skyward. This time, she did look away.

"I'm sorry. Harry will be gone all day. He won't get back until late in the evening. Perhaps another time," Casey suggested.

Keeping her gaze to the side, Casey walked forward and around him to the door. His next words stopped her.

"I meant just you and me."

Casey stopped dead in the doorway. Had she heard him right or had it been her imagination? Slowly, she turned around to face him again. With a narrowed gaze, the blonde shot him a confused look. He continued.

"Lily's gone for the weekend with a friend. Have you seen me ever attempt to cook dinner? Not good." James chuckled. "Not good. _At all._"

Casey smiled softly. She was still a bit unsure of what to make of this dinner invitation. James cracked his playful grin that charmed many a girl in the past. Now Casey knew where Harry got his charming smile.

"Is it wrong for a man to want to share a dinner with his future daughter-in-law?" James questioned.

Depends on what the future father-in-law has in store for said future daughter-in-law, Casey silently thought. But she didn't say that aloud.

"I suppose not. What time would you like to meet and where?" Casey asked.

James thought on that for a moment.

"How about seven o'clock at the new restaurant in Diagon Alley?" James suggested.

Casey grinned.

"The Melting Pot? I thought you needed to have a reservation," Casey pointed out.

"I know the owner. He has a standing reservation for me this week. Told me I could stop by any day," James explained.

Casey nodded.

"Okay. Seven o'clock. I'll be there."

/…/

The zoo was huge! Casey had been pleasantly surprised that Silas and Izzy came to one of the muggle zoos. The Bristol Zoo had over 400 species of animals all within their twelve acre gardens. Silas explained that Izzy loved this zoo the most because she had adopted a meerkat a year ago.

Naturally, Izzy wanted to go straight to the meerkats, but Silas reminded her that they would be there all afternoon. He agreed that they could start off that direction, but they would visit other animals first. Armed with a muggle digital camera Harry had given her a couple of years ago, Casey was equally excited to be at the zoo.

They checked out the flamingos and walked through the nectar garden. Then they wandered through the Butterfly Forest. Izzy held out her finger which a beautiful blue butterfly landed on. Casey silently knelt down, focused the camera, and took a quiet picture. The butterfly flew off once the photograph was taken.

Silas chuckled as Izzy ran ahead of them, but keep within his line of sight. He was secretly happy that Casey hadn't removed the spell on his daughter's barrette.

"I notice you don't seem like a stranger to such an environment. I don't imagine P.W.'s get out into this part of town often," Silas murmured.

P.W. was a code word used in the muggle world to stand for Pureblood Witch/Wizard. It was being used more and more by muggle-borns and half-bloods while in the Muggle World. Most Purebloods found the wording offensive. Casey did not.

"My Godfather lives on Spinner's End. A few summers spent with him had us visiting places on both sides. I always wanted to see the animals so he would take me and my brother to zoos and aquariums," Casey explained.

She had told Harry the story before, too. He just couldn't envision the black robe favoring, short-tempered Potions Master as one to go out in the sun.

"Ha Ha. You fascinate me, Casey. You're not like any P.W. I've ever met before," Silas admitted.

"Thank you. I like to contribute part of that to my Godfather's influence of keeping a level head. But I suppose my fiancé is partly to blame as well," Casey said with a chuckle.

Silas joined her in laughing. Izzy returned to ask if she could feed the lorikeets. The wizard pulled out some muggle money and handed it to his daughter. She dashed over to the desk lady for a nectar cup.

The two adults watched as the lady showed Izzy how to hold the nectar cup before showing her the way out to the birds. They returned their attention to the little girl who startled as she was swarmed by four thirsty lorikeets. Casey handed her camera off to Silas and came to Izzy's aid.

She pulled the little girl up into her arms with one arm around her waist. Casey's free hand covered over Izzy's hand that held the nectar cup. Both of them were now covered with birds.

Two perched on either of their hands holding the cup. One perched on her shoulder squawked loudly in Izzy's ear while two found themselves a comfy spot on top of Casey's head.

Another bird with obvious signs of molting flew over and landed as the third by the cup. The two girls laughed happily together. They never heard the snap of the camera. Once the cup was licked dry, the birds flew off in search of more sustenance. Izzy was placed back down on her feet so they could walk outside the lorikeet area together.

Once outside, Izzy asked Casey if she could ride on her shoulders. Casey smiled and told her of course she could. She bent down on her knees a little while Silas picked her up under the armpits. He placed her gently down on Casey's shoulders and held her steady as Casey straightened up.

Izzy let her legs rest down on Casey's front while she wrapped her arms around the top of Casey's head. She rested her chin down on the soft blonde hair. The hair tickled a little bit, but she didn't mind. Silas took another picture of the two before placing the camera in his pocket.

"Izzy saw the picture of you and your fiancé sitting on your desk. Am I right in assuming his first name is Harry?" Silas asked with a hinting glow in his eyes.

Casey could tell it wasn't the glow of knowing she would be the wife of the famous Harry Potter. It was a light of recognition in them and nothing more.

"Yes. It's Harry. I think you would like him," Casey said.

"Yes. I think we both would. I'd like to invite both of you to have dinner with us this weekend," he replied, dropping his voice to a low murmur on his last sentence.

Casey whispered back that she would talk to Harry about it tomorrow. Even if there was no doubt in her mind what his answer would be.

/…/

Time flew by at the zoo. Thankfully, Casey had the time to chase home for a quick shower before meeting James. She found him waiting for her in the lobby of The Melting Pot. He had obviously gone home too as he was no longer dressed in his Auror robes.

With Casey beside him, James stepped up to the hostess booth and told her they were ready to be seated. The woman escorted them through the building and let them to a booth in a private room. Before they could sit down, the owner appeared. Casey almost felt like she needed sunglasses when looking at the man. The man wore bright purple, pink, and yellow robes that made her eyes burn.

"James!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around him in a big hug.

The man had bright Weasley-like red hair and golden amber eyes. James embraced him just as hard. It almost looked like the two wizards were trying to see who could break whose ribs first. Finally, the two broke apart with equally loud chuckles.

"James, it's been too long, my friend! Now who is this lovely young woman with you and whatever happened to Mrs. Lily Potter?" he asked, giving her a sly wink.

Casey knew it was all in fun when James laughed. He surprised her by placing a hand on her shoulder blade to pull her forward.

"Lily is gone for the weekend. Shawn Ferguson, this is my son's fiancée and my future daughter-in-law, Casey Malfoy. Casey, this is an old Hogwarts and Ravenclaw friend of mine."

For the second time in less than five minutes, James truly surprised Casey. In the past, when amongst the public, James had nearly choked on every word when introducing Casey as Harry's girlfriend. Here he was saying all that and more with what looked like…pride?

Shawn seemed a little surprised as well.

"A Malfoy, you say? C'est un honneur de vous rencontrer [It is an honor to meet you]," Shawn said, switching from English to French with ease.

Casey relaxed a little. French was nearly her first language.

"Merci. Vous avez un merveilleux restaurant [Thank you. You have a marvelous restaurant]," Casey replied.

Shawn chuckled as he reached out to grab her by the shoulder and pulled her into a hug. He placed her none too gently back on her feet, causing her to stumble.

"I like this one, James! Clever child." Casey glared. Child?!

He bade them to sit and said that he would send in their server. They slid into seats opposite each other just as the server appeared.

"Good evening. I am Deliona and I will be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink?"

They both rattled off their drink orders and she left to retrieve the drinks. James opened the menu and looked over it carefully. Casey sat with her hands folded on the table in front of her, staring. She couldn't quite figure this out. When had James blood Potter turned a 180 on her?

"Do you feel like a cheese fondue or salad? Or would you prefer an entrée and then dessert? I'm game for anything. Well, except for maybe that salad," James said.

Casey waited until the drinks arrived and waved off the server.

"I think I would prefer an explanation, Senior Auror," Casey replied.

James looked up from his menu. He could see the clear confusion on Casey's face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Casey beat him to it.

"Don't get me wrong. It makes me happy to be here. But there's been a rift between our families _long_ before Harry and I were even friends. You thought Harry and I were playing a joke when we told you we were dating. You _fainted_ when I announced I wanted to become an Auror."

James chuckled with the shake of his head.

"The very few times we have had both our families together, Harry and I had _more_ than our fair share of times separating you and my father. I think the record of you two sitting at a table without any incident was _five minutes_." He thought it had been longer than that. "Then I entered basic training for an Auror."

James remembered. There had been so many recruits and he had been one of her instructors for a few training classes. She was a brilliant witch.

"It seemed like you approved of my career choice, but you never said a word to me or Harry. Probably not to Mrs. Potter, either. Like my parents, you seemed satisfied that Harry and I weren't living together while in training. Also like them, you _freaked out_ to the highest extent when we moved in together _and_ got engaged."

James waited before asking, "Was there a question you had?"

Casey leaned forward with her arms on the table.

"What's changed? What's changed in all this time?"

James sighed. Nothing but the honest truth would save him right now.

"I have."

Out of the possible answers, that was one Casey had not predicted. She sat silently, knowing that it was James' turn to speak. He took a sip of his drink and swallowed a couple of times. She could tell he was trying to figure out what he said _before_ he said it. Would wonders never cease?

"You're right. The rivalry between our families started back at Hogwarts. Your father was a pain in my ass and your godfather and I _definitely_ came to curses and hexes on a daily basis. When Harry introduced you to his girlfriend, I panicked. I thought you were the same as your parents."

All her life it seemed she would be facing that assumption. What would take for everyone to realize that while she was a Malfoy and Black, she was also a Casey?

James reached across to take her hand in his. This action snapped her out of her thoughts.

"It made me sad that Harry didn't want to become an Auror, but I'll admit a tiny bit of me was happy _you_ did. During training, I came to see the real you. The Casey behind the Malfoy. It's taken me time to learn about what made you such a good…_great_ Auror."

Casey was speechless.

"You had a lot of strengths, particularly in Potions and Defense. Yet you had your weaknesses, too. During training, I noticed you had trouble with Charms. Rather than allow it to overcome you, you asked for help. You spoke with your instructors, your classmates…Hell; I know you even asked Lily. And when she told you no, you asked Remus who did agree to help you."

Charms had always been frustrating. Thankfully, Harry had been there when she had asked Lily for help so the response had been a simple no. It could have been worse, had she been alone.

"Today, after hearing from Kingsley about the incident with Fudge, I realized _I_ had changed. I no longer see a Malfoy trying to lure my son into a doomed marriage. I see Casey. A beautiful young woman with a good head on her shoulders and a strong desire to help others. I am sorry for the way I've behaved. I do hope you will forgive me."

All Casey could do was nod silently. It was all she could do to keep the tears from coming to her eyes. Harry was not going to believe this.

"I'd like it very much if you called me James. Is that all right, Casey?" James added.

Casey let out a small gasp before her face broke out in a big smile.

"Yes. I'd love that, sir…uh, James."

James smiled. Casey returned the smile. When she woke up that morning, she never thought her day would go the way it had.

END OF CHAPTER TWO

[1] - Special brown points to whoever can make the connection as to where I pulled Captain Cragen from.

[2] In case it wasn't obvious, K&R is Auror-ese for "kidnap and rescue."

**Author's Note: Now that you have read two chapters I ask that you please take a few seconds to write a quick review and hit the submit button. I love reviews and I always answer them in the next chapter to let others know that I appreciate their feedback. Happy Labor Day, everyone!**

**For the next chapter, you will get to hear all about Harry's day. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Guest:** Actually, I'm a little pleased and surprised. I've been writing fan fics for as long as I can remember and no one's ever called me on another language in my stories. You're absolutely correct. I don't speak French…at all. And it is a Google translate. I took a few years of Spanish in high school and can do a fairly decent translation for that. However, I'm fluent in English and ASL (American Sign Language). It's not often that I throw in other languages in my stories. But hey, I want to congratulate you on being the first person to review this story! Lol

CHAPTER THREE

(((Same Day as Casey's Day [Chapter 2])))

Harry wasn't surprised when he woke up that morning alone in bed. Casey was good about getting up before him to go work out. It was important for Aurors to keep in shape. Every morning, his fiancée woke up to go for a morning run around the neighborhood. Then she would come back and do a few exercises before showering, grabbing breakfast, and leaving.

Harry reached over for his glasses, but he stayed lying in bed for a few minutes just staring up at the ceiling. It was a gorgeous ceiling. A special artist had helped him create the different images on it.

A pair of dragons were currently floating on a cloud sleeping. The dragons were of Chinese descent with long flowing bodies and no wings. One was pure white with gray-blue eyes and the other was pure black with jade-colored eyes. The image changed over the course of the day.

In the early morning, the two would be founding sleeping on clouds; sometimes on the same cloud, other times on separate. During the day, they floated around all over the walls (not just the ceiling). At night, they would zip around the stars and sometimes sit down on a dark cloud to watch the stars.

Right now the white dragon was floating all around the cloud the black dragon was trying to sleep on. The white dragon bumped its head underneath it and pulled on its tail with a claw. The black dragon wasn't budging. It did, however, peek open a green eye to look down at him.

Harry would have shivered if he hadn't been used to it. Considering part of his magic was infused in the artistry, Harry wasn't surprised with how lifelike the dragons were.

"I suppose it's time to get up, huh?" Harry murmured.

The black dragon shook its head in disagreement. It obviously wanted to sleep longer. Harry chuckled before rolling out of bed. He ran a hand through his hair roughly as he trudged over to the bathroom.

He turned on the shower to hot, tossed his clothes off, and jumped in. He nearly jumped back out in surprise with how hot the water was. Harry forgot sometimes how hot their water could get. He spelled his glasses off to sit on the counter.

For just a minute or two, he just let the hot water rain down on his weary body. Shaking his body like a dog, Harry reached over for his bar of soap. Ever since that incident of mistaking his soap for Casey's, he had gone from a bottle to a bar of soap.

I am _never_ smelling like cherry blossoms again, Harry swore.

The worse part had been having lunch with Draco that day. Him and his sensitive pureblood nose had recognized the scent and nearly fell out of his chair laughing. He hadn't shut up until Harry had grabbed a loaf of French bread and popped him over the head with it.

And he retaliated with the bowl of gelatin, Harry chuckled to himself.

It was almost worth being banned from the establishment. Harry shook his head, spraying the droplets across the shower tiles. He washed his hair out with his shampoo before turning off the shower and stepping out.

Harry's teeth chattered as he yanked a towel off a nearby wrack. Rather than dry himself off, he immediately wrapped the towel around himself like a blanket. He let out an unmanly squeal when he turned around and saw a blur standing in the doorway.

"Casey!" he exclaimed.

Casey brought her hand up to her mouth, but it did no help to smother her laughter. Harry reached out with a fumbling hand to grab up his glasses. He jammed them onto his face before grabbing the towel again to pull it further up around his waist.

"_Casey_," he groaned while moving his red face to the side.

The blonde witch let out one more little giggle before walking across the bathroom. She slipped her arms around his neck and leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Leo," Casey murmured, using her pet name for him.

Momentarily forgetting the state of undress he was in, Harry turned his head to catch Casey's mouth with his. She giggled as Harry gave her several open-mouthed kisses on her lips. She moved back but leaned back in to lick the tip of his nose. He scrunched up his nose in mild irritation.

Casey chuckled again as she leaned in close to his ear.

"How's the breeze, dear?" Casey whispered.

Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion. A quick glance down had him emitting another sound of embarrassment. Casey broke out in peals of laughter as Harry dropped down to scoop up his fallen towel and wrap it back around his waist. Casey dropped her arms to wrap them around herself.

Throwing one arm around his fiancée's waist, Harry moved Casey to the side so he could sweep out of the bathroom. Casey turned around to shout to his back.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, dear!"

As she turned around to turn the shower back on, she heard Harry shout back to her.

"I want to be there when you say _that_ in front of your family!"

Casey smirked. Oh, that's fine. She could play that game, too.

"That's okay. I'll tell them _first_ that it was _your_ idea to play _strip_ poker!"

Harry chuckled as he finished dressing and swept out of the room. He knew Casey would be a while with showering. Having long hair usually forced women to have to take more time with it. Ron had complained many times to him before about Hermione taking so long with her own frizzy brown hair.

Harry wandered down the stairs to the ground level and into the kitchen. Malfoy Manor had a large assortment of house elves and even Godric's Hallow had a few on hand. However, Widow's Walk had not a single house elf and neither Casey nor Harry were about to change that.

The boy who lived stepped into the kitchen with the intent of fixing breakfast. Most mornings, Harry made breakfast. On those days, Casey usually would fix dinner. The only exception was on nights that she worked late or he was out.

He cracked open a couple of eggs and placed them in a frying pan over medium heat. He pulled out a variety of fruits and placed them on the island. After washing his hands, Harry grabbed up a cutting board and a small knife. Cutting up the fruits into small pieces took no time at all as he alternated between that and the eggs.

By the time Casey made it down to the kitchen, Harry had laid out a feast on the island. Casey kissed him on the cheek as she sat down on a stool. Harry sat on the short end while Casey sat near him on the longer side.

"Everything looks good as always, Harry," Casey complimented him.

He murmured a quiet thank you as he dug in. Casey piled on her plate a little bit of everything. Fresh fruit, mini pancakes, grits with cheese and butter, and a small bowl of homemade oatmeal. Harry really did cook the best meals for breakfast.

"I think the team really had a great time last night." Casey frowned. "I just hope Diggory stays home."

Harry chuckled. Casey had once explained that breaking down wards took a lot out of a wizard/witch, especially if breaking them down _quietly_.

"I'm glad the guys had a good time. I haven't talked to Oliver or Neville in ages. How is Luna, by the way? I forgot to ask Neville last night."

Shortly after graduation, to the shock of all his friends, Neville had proposed to Luna Lovegood. Last he heard, they were expecting a baby girl.

"Luna's good. She still visits every Thursday afternoon at the Ministry. She's due in a few weeks. Although you can't tell by looking at Neville," Casey said with a chuckle.

Harry smiled as he leaned his right elbow on the island. His left hand lay flat next to him. His smile grew when Casey's hand snuck over to slide under his. He gripped her hand in a warm squeeze.

Normally, this would be awkward. However, Casey was, miracle of all miracles, left-handed. Harry found that as just one more interesting fact about his wife-to-be. After all, being left-handed was very rare in the magical community; ambidextrous even more so.

"Casey?"

The blonde witch glanced up from her breakfast plate.

"I won't be back 'til late tonight," Harry told her.

Casey raised a quiet eyebrow in question.

"Do you remember my mom mentioning that job fair?" Nod. "I decided to go, after all."

Casey looked visibly confused. She swallowed what she was eating and put her fork down. She stood from her stool to come stand next to Harry. He turned in his seat and reached out to place his hands on Casey's hips. She took a step closer so she could stand between his open legs.

"Harry, you know it's okay that you don't have a job, right?"

This had been a very volatile conversation between the families. The Malfoy's thought Harry was a lazy sod and taking advantage of Casey, thus making him an even poorer choice for a spouse. The Potter's thought him irresponsible and was disappointed. James didn't let it show, but Lily certainly did.

"I know," Harry said. "But I want to at least go and learn about more options. Plus it might get mom off my back with all her 'hints'."

Casey snorted as she looped her arms around his shoulders. She leaned forward to share a kiss with him before pulling away.

"Don't let her bother you, Harry. It's your life. Do with it what _you_ want," Casey gently reminded him.

Harry nodded in understanding. He remembered well the last time Casey had had to reassure him. She had been out of a town for a conference for Magical Law Enforcement. He had gone home to have dinner with his family, only to find that Remus and Sirius were there as well.

Lily had had a game plan and had insisted on talking about each of the men's jobs over dinner. James being a successful, well-decorated Auror; Remus owning and running his own book shop; and even Sirius jumping back and forth from multiple part-time jobs. While her husband was an Auror, Lily Potter worked part-time as a translator for the Ministry. The others had tried to steer the conversation to other topics – _anything _– but Lily had not been deterred.

Casey had returned home early to surprise him, but had found him drinking himself under the table in a depressed state. She had grabbed him up and hauled him upstairs where she dumped him unceremoniously into the shower. Casey had hosed him off while casting a sobering charm on him. That had been a long conversation between the two lovers.

"Have a good day at work, Case. I love you," Harry murmured.

"Love you, too, Leo."

After stepping back from Harry, Casey apparated away in a swirl of black wisps of smoke. Harry cleaned up breakfast and placed the leftovers in the fridge. Sometimes he forgot that he and Casey didn't eat big meals.

Once that was done, Harry wandered back upstairs to the bathroom. He took off his glasses and put in a pair of color contacts. When he looked into the mirror, a pair of dazzling blue eyes was looking back at him. He made sure his legendary scar was well hidden by his hair.

He made sure to check the apparation coordinates for the location of the job fair. It wouldn't do for him to land in the wrong place or splinch himself.

Next to flooing, apparation was one of those magical transportation methods that felt weird. When apparating, Harry felt this sensation of his body floating through the air. At the same time, there was a picture of a map and his precise coordinates in his mind.

When he landed in the lobby of the hotel, he shifted from air to solid. Harry smiled as he glanced around. It was a magical world hotel which was located in Italy. It often held events for the international magical community.

He was immediately greeted by a young woman in her young teens. She started speaking at a medium pace in Italian. Harry held up his hands in the form of a stopping motion.

"Inglese, per favore," Harry told her.

The woman smiled. When she opened her mouth to speak, she spoke in English.

"Greetings, traveler. We have many fun events going on today. For which one, are you here?" she asked.

He told her the name of the job fair and she smiled. Taking his arm, she escorted him across the lobby and down a hallway to a big conference room. He thanked her quietly before going in.

There were a lot of tables that filled the room. There were wizards from everywhere and all across a variety of employment fields in the magical community. The fair was full of people all around. A good number of them were younger than him, which made him a little uncomfortable.

Harry decided to bypass the Auror table and anything having to do with magical law enforcement. His soon-to-be wife and father worked as Aurors. He had no desire to become one, too. He glanced at the tables with representatives from fields working at the Ministry, but he wasn't interested there, either.

Harry first stopped at a table where a wandmaker was. The wandmaker was a witch from America who introduced herself as Amelia Marie.

"Leo," Harry said, taking her hand to shake.

In addition to changing his eye iconic eye color and hiding his scar, Harry used Casey's pet name for him as his name.

"It's good to meet you, Leo. Given your accent, I believe it's safe to assume your wand was crafted by Ollivander," Amelia Marie noted.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, Mam," he replied.

Amelie Marie chuckled.

"Well, what would you like to know about being a wandmaker?" Amelia Marie asked.

Harry smiled as he looked at all the stuff laid out on her table.

"I guess I want to know what your job really entails. I don't know a whole lot about wandmaking," Harry confessed with a sheepish smile.

Amelia Marie flashed him a knowing smile.

"Not many people are familiar with the process. It's actually a career that is in _high_ demand around the entire magical community. You have to study under a wandmaker for a minimum of _two years_."

Harry listened attentively for quite a while. He was impressed with her intellect and after listening to all you had to do to become a wandmaker, he felt a greater appreciation for Ollivander.

I'll have to remember to stop by his shop someday soon, Harry thought.

He learned a lot about a variety of careers. Some he had never even thought of ever pursuing. After wandering around and talking with the people, Harry still didn't know what career he wanted, but he did know one thing; he wanted to help people.

Harry was reading through a pamphlet from one of the tables when a voice called over to him.

"You look lost."

He looked up and over where the voice was. It had come from an older woman at a table he had missed. He walked over with a smile. Her table was crowded over with several different types of owls. She had her long black hair decorated with different feathers and in a single braid.

The woman had a thick glove on and a large Great Horned Owl perched on it. The owl had bright orange eyes and screeched as he came closer. She smiled at him.

"You look like a young man who hasn't quite found his way just yet," she commented.

He shrugged with a weak smile. He reached his hand up to pet the owl. It hooted happily and fluffed out its wings of wanting more attention. The woman chuckled.

"Horatio, you ham," she teased.

Harry chuckled as the owl scooted as far down her arm as he could go to get more attention from him (Harry).

"Name's Sophia. What's yours?"

"Leo."

Sophia shot him a funny look.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but you don't look like a Leo. You look….more like a Harry to me," she answered.

Harry had to resist the urge to reach up and smooth his hair down. He knew his scar wasn't showing, but the urge was still there.

"You know," she continued, breaking him out of his thoughts, "if you're not sure of a career, you could always take some college classes and explore."

Harry smiled gratefully when the woman produced a list of good schools in the area he lived. He was surprised that some of the schools he thought were strictly muggle turned out to offer some wizarding classes.

I wonder how that works, Harry thought.

Harry was broken out of his thoughts when a man appeared at Sophia's side. He kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Sophia, how lovely to see you! I didn't know our conferences were going to be in the same building this year," he said, pausing. "Do you mind if I take some feathers?"

Sophia chuckled and nodded as the man reached out and took away some of the loose feathers. Harry thought this was an odd request until Sophia noticed his look and explained.

"Leo, this is Gabriel. He's an old childhood friend. He's a Potions Master. He likes to use ingredients from my owls in his potions," Sophia explained.

Harry spoke before he could stop himself.

"The Potions Master Symposium is here?" Harry asked.

Gabriel's face broke out in a wide grin as he carefully stored the feathers away in his robes.

"Yes, of course! It's only held every five years and this year's host was Italy. But it's not very widely known about. How did you come to know about it?" Gabriel asked.

Once again, Harry opened his mouth and spoke before he could think about he was saying.

"My old Potions Master was supposed to be presenting this year and getting an award," Harry explained.

Gabriel's face lit up. After placing another peck on Sophia's cheek, Gabriel came around the table and clapped an arm around Harry's shoulders.

"You must be speaking of Senior Potions Master Snape! I saw him only a moment ago speaking to Senior Potions Master Adelle. You should come with me to see him."

Harry shot Sophia a hopeless look as the Potions Master dragged him away.

/…/

"Severus!"

Snape looked up when he heard Gabriel. He and Pacci Adelle had been discussing his recent advances with the Wolfsbane Potion when he had shouted for them. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Gabriel had a young man accompanying him.

"Did you finally find an apprentice, Gabe?" Potions Master Adelle teased.

An apprentice would have to be insane to work under the mastery of Gabriel Neil Dinozzo[1]. Gabriel chuckled as he stopped by his colleagues with his hand still on Harry's shoulder.

"Ha Ha Very funny, Adelle. No, _actually_, I ran into this young man downstairs. He is an old student of yours, Severus," Gabriel explained.

Severus sized him up with the calculated gaze of an expert. Harry could tell he didn't recognize him which was a very good thing. Less chance of the other two Potions Masters recognizing him. Adelle turned and held out his hand.

"I'm afraid Gabriel is once again lacking in his manners. I'm Senior Potions Master Pacci Adelle. And you are?"

Gabriel shot him an annoyed look. Harry smiled as he shook hands with the man.

"I'm Leo _Evans_, sir. It's an honor to meet another Senior Potions Master," Harry said, putting a bit of an obvious emphasis on his last name.

By the small widening of his eyes and a quick glance up to his forehead, it was obvious Snape had picked up on it. Adelle chuckled.

"Yes, I imagine it is quite the honor. There is not too many of us in the field. Gabe is, in fact, working on his senior level work right now. I imagine he probably bored you in the halls discussing his thesis project," Adelle teased.

Harry could tell by the way the two interacted that they were very good friends.

"_Thank you_ _**so much**_, Adelle. Oh, how I miss that sense of humor while studying in Australia," Gabriel commented.

Adelle patted his friend on the arm before turning back to Harry.

"I'm sure it was quite an experience studying under Severus at Hogwarts. I bet you even remember your first Potions class," Gabriel said, shifting the conversation.

Harry felt sure that Severus was under the same opinion. 'Quite an experience' was not the way to describe their Potions classes.

"Then a bet is in order."

The three wizards looked at a grinning Adelle. Gabriel spoke up.

"Oh? What kind of bet?" Gabriel asked.

"I bet the boy _cannot_ recall his first Potions class," Adelle smirked.

Harry's eyebrows shot upward. They were actually making this into a bet? Where the Hell did Snape meet these people?! A quick glance at the man revealed something surprised. He was amused. This man that had made his childhood and school life a living Hell was amused they were making a bet over him!

"And your wager?" Gabriel looked very curious.

Adelle chuckled.

"The shed skin of a rare water asp."

Gabriel's grin widened. "That serious, huh? Very well. I'll put up my ash from the burning day of a phoenix."

It was then that all eyes fell on him. He hadn't been this nervous since announcing his engagement to Casey to his _and_ Casey's family.

"Well, Mr. Evans, what can you tell us, if anything, of your first Potions class? I'm sure that Severus can confirm or deny what you say," Adelle said with a falsely sweet smile.

Harry wasn't sure whose stare scared him more. He realized in the few seconds he was silent that whatever came out of his mouth could potentially embarrass his fiancée's godfather. In front of his colleagues.

"Umm…I'm not really sure what you want to hear," Harry answered, honestly.

Thankfully, Gabriel gave him a guiding hand.

"I'm sure that Severus mostly spoke during the first day rather than actually teaching. What did you learn that day? What did he say as his introduction to the subject?"

Thank you, Gabriel, Harry thought.

Harry drew in a breath, glanced at Snape, and spoke.

"If you add powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of wormwood, you make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone, taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. And there's no difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane. It's the same plant which is also known as Aconite," Harry answered.

Severus was mildly impressed. After all, that information was Potions 101 and very easy to remember. Not to mention he could have picked it up from Gabriel on the walk up from the ground floor. Apparently, Adelle wasn't very impressed either.

"I'd like a little more than that before I collect my prize," Adelle hinted.

Gabriel started to protest, but Adelle shot him a warning look.

"No helping, Dinozzo. Or you forfeit."

Gabriel's mouth clapped shut. His eyes turned to Harry with a pleading look.

"How about something Professor Snape said? On the first day," Harry offered.

Adelle nodded. That seemed acceptable.

"Potion-making is a subtle science and exact art. He didn't expect us to understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldrons with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. He could teach us how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death."

Harry could tell that Snape hadn't been expecting such an answer. The other two Potions Masters turned to him with questioning look on their faces.

"I believe, Adelle, that Dinozzo…" Snape paused. "…has just won himself a new Potions ingredient."

Gabriel let out a whoop of joy as Adelle mumbled several curses in Italian. Harry hadn't hung around Casey and Blaise so long without picking up a few vocabulary words for the foreign language. Adelle murmured one more swear word before jerking his head toward the happily dancing fool that was Gabriel Dinozzo.

"Come with me, Dinozzo. Might as well get it for you now. If you'll excuse us, Severus. We'll catch up to you after lunch."

And that was how Harry found himself standing alone in a corridor with the man that was his mother's best friend, his school Potions Professor, and fiancée's godfather.

Snape was staring a hole into him as if trying to read his mind. Knowing that Snape could indeed do so, Harry brought his gaze up to lock gazes with him before speaking in a strong, confident voice.

"Congratulations on your award, sir," Harry said.

Snape's eyebrow rose. "I suppose I have your wife-to-be to thank for sending you. An owl would have done just as well."

Harry shook his head. He told the professor his reason for being there. Now that Potter mentioned it, Snape remembered Lily mentioning it in passing once or twice.

"If you'll excuse me, _Potter_, I intend to get some sustenance before the continuation of the seminar," Snape said, turning to leave.

"I'd like to treat you to lunch."

Snape couldn't hide the stunned look on his face when he turned back around. Harry was trying to figure out how to get the surprised look off his own face.

"Very well, Potter. I trust your fiancée has told you of some nearby eateries."

/…/

Snape had been right. Casey had told him last night of some local places. The Jade Dragon was a fusion restaurant of muggle and wizard food. The hostess seated them quickly in a back booth by a large fish tank.

Their server, a young-looking wizard with the name tag Phalen, came by and took their drink orders. The silence wasn't awkward until after their orders were taken and menus were gone. Harry had to fight to not fidget is front of his former professor.

Finally, he broke the silence with a very surprising statement.

"Casey and I want you to walk her down the aisle."

Of all the things for him to say, Snape had not been expecting that.

"That honor is reserved for the _biological_ father of the bride. Lucius is Casey's father," Snape told him.

He would never say it out loud, but it did pain Severus to say that out loud. Harry sighed while rubbing the side of his face.

"Casey's tried talking to Luc-, Mr. Malfoy. He refuses to discuss it. He either ignores her or changes the subject. This is something we've both talked about _and_ agree on. We want _you_, professor," Harry explained.

It was true that he was close to both his godchildren and he would be absolutely honored to escort his goddaughter. However, Lucius was also his best friend. He wasn't about to overstep his boundaries as godfather and best friend.

"I will think on it," was all he said.

Harry smiled weakly.

"Thank you, sir."

Snape leaned forward with his fingers laced in front of him and his chin resting on top of them.

"Severus."

Harry frowned. Was Snape saying he wanted him to…?

"Whether I like it or not, Potter, you make my goddaughter happy. I've been a part of your life since you were _conceived_." Harry made a gagging sound in his mind. "And it seems that our time…'together' shall be extended with your upcoming nuptials. It's only logical that you address me by my first name."

Harry nodded his head slowly. The two of them had been "together" for quite some time, mostly due to his mother's childhood friendship with Snape.

"Okay, sir...uhm…professor…sir…" Harry groaned. "_Severus_."

Snape smirked, but suppressed a chuckle. It would take some time for the poor younger wizard to adjust to calling him (Snape) by his name.

Their lunch arrived and that effectively shut up both wizards. Snape had to admit that Casey had given her husband-to-be good advice on where to eat. Smart girl.

"Umm…sir."

Snape's gaze shifted upwards to look at the Potter heir.

"You can call me Harry, sir."

Snape raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he brought his fork back up.

/…/

"Lord Malfoy? You is having a visitor, Sir."

Lucius was sitting at his desk looking over a pile of papers in hand. A glass of Scotch on the rocks sat half-empty beside him. The house elf was standing there wringing his hands into the cloth it called a shirt.

"Who is it?" Lucius asked in a demanding voice.

The house elf, used to the Lord of the House's temperament, didn't jump or stutter in his response.

"It is being Master Snape, Sir."

Lucius frowned. As far as he knew, Snape was away for a conference. He had offered his congratulations to the man for his award only a few nights ago.

"Show him to the study."

He picked up his glass and took another sip of his Scotch before signing a paper. It didn't take long for the Potions Master to appear. Lucius smiled as he stood from his desk to greet his longtime best friend.

"Severus, how was Italy?" Lucius asked, coming around to lean back on his desk.

Severus smirked.

"As good as to be expected. One of the underlings attempting his mastery brought by an old…_acquaintance _of mine," Severus said.

Lucius knew what that meant. Acquaintance, in Severus' dictionary, usually meant someone that he just barely tolerated.

"Have you spoken to your daughter lately?" Severus asked, out of the blue.

Lucius crossed his arms in front of him while speaking.

"Casey Alexandria? Of course. She has agreed to come by the house to check on things while Narcissa and I are away."

The Malfoy patriarch and his wife were going to be away for several months in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Lucius was conducting business with the Ministry, personal business, and looking into wizarding schools in the area for the Hogwarts Board of Governors.

"Your _daughter_ is getting married to the love of her life in a year. Explain to me why you refuse to take part in her wedding plans and why her intended is asking that _I_ accompany her," Severus told him.

Lucius' gaze would have burned through metal.

"What I discuss with _my_ daughter is none of your concern, Severus. If she wishes to discuss the matter, she knows where to find me," Lucius replied.

Lucius pushed himself away from his desk and crossed around it. This should have signaled to Severus that it was the end of the conversation. However, Severus wanted to make himself perfectly clear to the blonde wizard.

"If you won't do it, Lucius, I _will_ walk Casey down the aisle."

Lucius' gaze shot upwards to his face and he openly glared at the Potions Master.

"You go too far, Severus. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to finish before our departure," Lucius said.

Severus shook his head before turning around to leave. He stopped at the doorway with his hand on the doorknob. He turned back halfway towards Lucius and spoke.

"Have you ever asked Casey what Abraxas told her before he passed?"

It had been his father's last wish to speak privately with his ten-year-old granddaughter. They had spent an hour chatting in his private room at St. Mungo's before he had passed away. They had found Casey with her head resting on his still stomach with his cold hand resting on top of her head. She had gone quietly when her mother had pulled her off him.

"Casey never divulged that information to me," Lucius murmured.

"Perhaps if you _asked her_, she might tell you."

And with that last thought, Severus left.

END OF CHAPTER THREE

[1] Can anyone guess where I pulled the name surname Dinozzo from?

**Author's Note: Woah! That is a new world record for me. Over 5,000 words in a single chapter! Sorry for the long wait for the new chapter, but work has kept me horribly busy. Hope you enjoy! **


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